House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus has announced his sponsorship of bipartisan legislation to combat predatory lending practices. Bachus will now be a co-sponsor of the manager's amendment to The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007 (H.R. 3915).

"The most important fact about this compromise is that it has significant new safeguards to protect families from abusive lending. This is the culmination of discussions that began two years ago when I sent Chairman Frank an outline for a subprime lending bill.

"In addition to significant consumer protections, the bill also provides carefully crafted assurances that frivolous lawsuits will not disrupt the ability of capital markets to continue to provide the liquidity necessary to assist families to achieve the dream of owning a home," Bachus said.

"The Financial Services Committee has a history of coming together in a bipartisan way to address threats to the financial system and our economy. The bill we will now consider has benefited from proposals by Republicans, Democrats, industry groups and consumer groups alike. For example, the legislation includes several provisions from a bill that Mrs. Biggert and I introduced earlier this year. While no bill is ever perfect, this is an example of how people with different political philosophies can work together to produce good public policy," Bachus said.